The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University (MSU), by Zaha Hadid Architects was inaugurated on Saturday 10 November. Dedicated to exploring global contemporary culture and ideas through art, the Broad Art Museum at MSU will serve as both an educational resource for the campus community and a cultural hub. The museum will present contemporary works within a historical context through access to a study collection of more than 7,500 objects, ranging from the Greek and Roman periods to modern art.

“Great art deserves great architecture, and so does a great university. The Broad Museum’ s bold concept and design reflect Michigan State’s ethos of connecting both campus and community to world-class innovation, global vision, and transformative opportunity.” said MSU President Lou Anna Simon.

The Broad Art Museum presents as a sharp, directed body, comprising directional pleats which reflect the topographic and circulatory characteristics of its surrounding landscape. Its outer skin echoes these different directions and orientations – giving the building an ever-changing appearance that arouses curiosity yet never quite reveals its content. The interior spaces bring together and negotiate the different pathways on which people move through and around the site. This dialogue of interconnecting geometries describes a series of spaces that offer a variety of adjacencies; allowing many different interpretations when designing exhibitions. Through this complexity, curators can interpret different leads and connections, different perspectives and relationships.

“Cultural engagement is paramount,” said Zaha Hadid. “The design of the Broad invites dialogue with the university, the community of East Lansing and beyond.”

“We expect that people from East Lansing and around the world will be drawn to see this bold architecture as much as to view the art within its walls,” Eli Broad said. “This museum has special significance to us because it represents the intersection of two of our passions-art and education. There is no doubt that this museum will help propel MSU far into the future as it serves and enriches the students and community.”

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